There is nothing better than getting together with friends in the park on a sunny day. Add in a selection of bikes, balls, fishing nets and a couple of dogs and you know it's going to be fun.

Today was a teacher training day at the kids school. This meant that we got to start our weekend a day early. We met at Rathmines park and got out flasks of coffee and watched the kids run wild while we nattered. At lunchtime we got a big load of fish and chips from the local take away.

The kids caught a "toad fish" and put him in a bucket. Gareth was fascinated by him. Rhiannon and Sian cycled and scooted up and down the paths with their friends.

Gar has a new bike that is still a bit big for him. He needed me to run with him keeping it balanced.

I soon got fed up of this and suggested we swap!

We brought Di's new puppy Willow for a walk. Or did he bring us for one?!

As the sun started to dip in the sky we returned Mr Toad fish to the lake and packed the car boots with bikes and scooters and said goodbye. Teachers, feel free to go take as many training days as you fancy, just make sure they are on sunny Fridays!